Athens area churches send supplies and volunteers to help people in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)– Hey everyone, Jennie Montgomery here with a little story to lift your spirits.

It’s one of the silver linings when disaster strikes: people helping people. The sense of community seems strong when so much of our community is in shambles. I don’t know about you, but lately I find myself holding back tears as I’m driving through neighborhood streets, to the grocery store, and to work. The devastation is hard to believe.

I worry about people who are experiencing homelessness because they’ve either lost their houses, or they’re displaced temporarily until repairs are made. I see so many rooftops with a patchwork of tarps, so many broken gates and fences. Homes that have sheltered families for decades, now punctured and ripped apart. It’s pretty understandable that anxiety builds as we see these images day after day, and it’s no wonder “disaster fatigue” creeps in.

But back to those silver linings…

Scarlett Oetting, an Augusta native, is a college student in Athens. She was part of a big group that came to Augusta last Sunday (Oct. 6th) to bring relief supplies and help out. This young woman shared her thoughts and pictures on Facebook and I found them most inspiring. She gave me permission to share it with all of you.

Thank you to Athens-area churches Prince Avenue Baptist and Watkinsville First Baptist, and thank you, Scarlett, for your beautiful observations. These are her words:

“Well, yesterday in Augusta was nothing short of amazing. The Lord provided for every need and more. We had over 65 college students go today and we helped four different houses, a kitchen sending out food to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, two churches, and a trailer park giving food to the homeless and less fortunate. Two out of the four houses and the trailer park were not planned. We cut down and hauled so many trees and gave out all of the food and supplies that we brought.
The main house that we spent a lot of the day at had a lady that said that she had never seen people so ready to help and that she could see how happy we were to do it. She’s not a believer, but after today we think she’s one step closer to Jesus.
The kitchen that we were helping send food to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army said that we helped send out 6000 meals yesterday alone.
For the trailer park, we had brought exactly what they needed. The park manager told us that it was “divine intervention” that we happened to be in Augusta today because so many people would’ve been without food tonight if we hadn’t been. The donations and supplies we brought will serve and feed so many families this coming week. The last house we were at said that they had been praying all week that the Lord would send aid and helpers to Augusta and specifically to her neighborhood. She said, ‘We prayed for helpers, and you all showed up.’
It was a true blessing to see everyone come together for one common goal today: to be servants for those who needed it most. The Kingdom of God was well served today by selfless people who desired nothing more than to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
After we left, everything that had happened genuinely brought me to tears. Today was long and tough at times, but the Lord showed us throughout it that you can have joy always, even in the midst of hard work. The Lord used this day so well and it was so beautiful to get to see it all unfold. It truly was a work of the Lord, and it could not have happened the way that it did without Him.
Thank you to everyone who donated, who prayed over us, and who came! Praise God!”

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